Qualities

[kwol-i-tee] /ˈkwɒl ɪ ti/

noun, plural qualities.
1.
an essential or distinctive characteristic, property, or attribute:
the chemical qualities of alcohol.
2.
character or nature, as belonging to or distinguishing a thing:
the quality of a sound.
3.
character with respect to fineness, or grade of excellence:
food of poor quality; silks of fine quality.
4.
high grade; superiority; excellence:
wood grain of quality.
5.
a personality or character trait:
kindness is one of her many good qualities.
6.
native excellence or superiority.
7.
an accomplishment or attainment.
8.
good or high social position:
a man of quality.
9.
the superiority or distinction associated with high social position.
10.
Acoustics. the texture of a tone, dependent on its overtone content, that distinguishes it from others of the same pitch and loudness.
11.
Phonetics. the tonal color, or timbre, that characterizes a particular vowel sound.
12.
Logic. the character of a proposition as affirmative or negative.
13.
Thermodynamics. the proportion or percentage of vapor in a mixture of liquid and vapor, as wet steam.
14.
social status or position.
15.
a person of high social position:
He’s quality, that one is.
adjective
16.
of or having superior quality:
quality paper.
17.
producing or providing products or services of high quality or merit:
a quality publisher.
18.
of or occupying high social status:
a quality family.
19.
marked by a concentrated expenditure of involvement, concern, or commitment:
Counselors are urging that working parents try to spend more quality time with their children.
/ˈkwɒlɪtɪ/
noun (pl) -ties
1.
a distinguishing characteristic, property, or attribute
2.
the basic character or nature of something
3.
a trait or feature of personality
4.
degree or standard of excellence, esp a high standard
5.
(formerly) high social status or the distinction associated with it
6.
musical tone colour; timbre
7.
(logic) the characteristic of a proposition that is dependent on whether it is affirmative or negative
8.
(phonetics) the distinctive character of a vowel, determined by the configuration of the mouth, tongue, etc, when it is articulated and distinguished from the pitch and stress with which it is uttered
9.
(modifier) having or showing excellence or superiority: a quality product
n.

c.1300, “temperament, character, disposition,” from Old French qualite “quality, nature, characteristic” (12c., Modern French qualité), from Latin qualitatem (nominative qualitas) “a quality, property; nature, state, condition” (said [Tucker, etc.] to have been coined by Cicero to translate Greek poiotes), from qualis “what kind of a,” from PIE pronomial base *kwo- (see who).

Meaning “degree of goodness” is late 14c. Meaning “social rank, position” is c.1400. Noun phrase quality time first recorded 1977. Quality of life is from 1943. Quality control first attested 1935.